Star Wars is well known for its string of people of the bad guy variety. From Darth Vader to Kylo Ren, there is a collection of villains we could talk about, but we will cover the actual evil-doer. If you guessed Sheev Palpatine, you’d be right.
This is not a profile of who Palpatine was, but it is a look at how he was the ultimate bad guy across the franchise we’ve known and loved for almost fifty years.
Sheev Palpatine had plans upon plans and never had to worry about a plan failing as there was always a backup. We’ve spoken several times about the Sith Lord and his plotting and scheming. The two posts in question are located above.
The Ultimate Star Wars Bad Guy Always Uses People
He knew how to worm his way into situations where he would benefit. For example, he used a young Padmé Amidala, the Queen of their homeworld of Naboo, to get elected as Supreme Chancellor. First, he had her call a Vote of No Confidence in Chancellor Finis Valorum. Then, he used the assassination attempts on her a decade later to allow Jar Jar Binks, who was sitting in for her, to give him emergency power. What ended up happening here is that it ruined the Gungan’s life.
Jar Jar ended up being universally hated, especially on Naboo. The adults hated him, given the damage that the Clone War inflicted and the rise of the Empire.
Also, Palpatine did everything he could to turn Anakin Skywalker against his best friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi. For example, during the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, when Kenobi slices open Vader’s helmet, the Skywalker side of the fallen Jedi’s personality tells him that Obi-Wan didn’t kill Anakin; Vader did.
In other words, Vader was created by Palpatine and made to become a different personality to Skywalker, which was triggered by the anger that Anakin held in for so many years. Also, the Emperor (then the Chancellor) used the young Jedi’s frustrations regarding Kenobi to his advantage.
Finally, 30 years after his death, Palpatine was remembered as the one who bought about fear and the Empire’s rise. Those who sided with the rebellion saw him as the bad guy. Meanwhile, those who were Empire-aligned thought he was on the right path. However, his resurrection went largely unknown until the battle with the First Order hit a fever pitch.
Moreover, his defeat at the hands of his granddaughter, Rey, shows that good always wins over evil.
